Utopia
by ButterflyMiko
Summary: Dan Phantom is ruling the future with a Dominion of evil ghosts. They are searching for a death goddess, the daughter of Clockwork, that could destroy their plans. They want to stop her from joining forces with Danny Phantom. But they are too late, and Chaos joins Team Phantom.
1. Invasion

A dark, glowing moon floated in space. A man with long wavy blonde hair sipped a drink.

"Have you found him yet?" Dan asked. "Well done Fright Night."

Two other men and a woman stood next to him. A figure sitting in a dark cloak appeared.

"Pariah Dark."

"The goddess of destruction," said the former king. "That woman of deception. Get Danny Phantom before he makes contact with her, immediately."

"Yes," said Dan. "And once we get Danny, we will crush them!"

The four raised their glasses in a toast. Black stars adorned their foreheads.

"For the rebirth of our magnificent history!" They chanted. "To the Dominion, and its great leader, Dan Phantom!"

The woman approached Dan. She had long red hair tied in a ponytail. "I sense that your old friends are guarding the goddess closely. They will prove to be a difficulty. I believe...we must capture them."

"Capture them?" Dan smirked. "You are really trying to earn points. They are not to be harmed. They are my friends, after all, Ahri."

"As you wish." Ahri bowed, and vanished into the portal.

Xxx

Danny, Tucker, and Sam were in the park.

"So you have told me about this girl that Clockwork wants us to protect." Sam said. "You said she is young, same age as us. What is her name?"

"Her name is Kuri." Danny said. "She is a Japanese priestess from an ancient line of priestesses. Her family works directly with Clockwork, but her mother took her away as a child to America. After her mother's death Clockwork worried that she would be found by ghosts."

"Please Danny. Don't talk about me like I'm not here." A girl stepped forward. She had long dark hair and was wearing a kimono. Her skin was pale as moonlight and her eyes were blue like the night sky. "Nice to meet you Danny, Tucker, Sam. I am K—"

She stopped.

The world had stopped.

"Did you—" Tucker asked Sam.

"Don't look at me!" Sam said.

"It was me." Kuri said. "As you must have already figured out, I am the daughter of Clockwork, and the heiress of Death, Time, and the Ghost Zone


	2. Abduction

After the Time Freeze faded, Kuri was gone.

They walked to Memorial Park, and saw the girl sitting by herself on a swing.

They heard the girl sniff. "Dad..." she cried.

Danny stepped forward. "Kuri?"

"Where's your house? We'll take you home." As he took the girl's hand, he saw an image of a crystal city. _"What?"_ he thought. _"What was that? Did I just see something...?"_

The girl held onto him. _"He's warm," _she thought. "_He's nothing like his future self."_

"Danny, you've gotten attached to her!" said Sam.

"Now that I look, she's a normal person," said Danny.

"She is not normal!" Tucker protested

"She has no hostility now," Danny said. He looked at the girl. "Where did you come from?"

"How do you know about all this ghost stuff?" said Sam.

The girl was silent. They took the little girl back to Danny's home and Kuri hid behind Danny when she saw Jazz.

Maddie came out.

"Danny, you're back?"

"Oh, Mom," said Danny "Umm... Err... This is..."

"Kurisuta Chronos." Kuri said. "But you can call me Kuri."

She bowed.

"Why, Danny, you're always so helpful," said Danny. She looked at Kuri. "Is this a foreign exchange student?"

"No, that's..." said Danny. "A girl I'm kind of fond of."

"Well, she's lovely," Maddie said.

"I am foreign. I'm Japanese." Kuri said.

_"Kurisuta Chronos?"_ thought Jazz. "_A foreign girl with a last name like that?_

"So, are you called Kuri then?" said Maddie.

Jack walked up to them.

"What's going on?" Jack said. "You're all gathered here."

"Hey, look at the necklace Kuri has." Tucker said. "It looks like a pretty cool clock."

"Yeah, it does!" said Danny.

"You're so cute, Kuri!" said Maddie. "Where's your home? It's dinner time already. Your mother must be worried."

"I..." said Kuri. "Fenton Daniel. I've decided to watch you for a while."

"Huh!?" said Danny.

Kuri picked up the clock around her neck. It turned into a staff and she struck it on the ground.

"Wh- what!?" said Danny.

A spiral pattern from the staff hypnotized everyone—but Danny wasn't affected.

Danny shook his head. "Oh no!"

He bopped Sam and Tucker, knocking them out of their trances.

Danny looked at his parents. "Mom!? Dad!?"

Maddie smiled at Kuri

"Well," Danny said. "How great to have you here! From now on, think of this as your home. We've been waiting for you, Kuri."

Danny gasped. Kuri smiled.

_"Damn that brat!"_ thought Danny. He grabbed Kuri and ran to his room upstairs.

"Show me your true identity!" He said. "Kuri! What did you do to Mom and Dad!? Return them to normal!"

"I won't..." Kuri said quietly.

"You won't...!? What's that supposed to mean! What did you do!? Who the hell are you!?"

Kuri was silent.

"Say something!" said Danny. "You've been unfair since the start! I won't go easy on you!"

Jazz walked into the room.

"Hey!" Jazz said.. "Danny's bullying Kuri!"

"Jazz..." said Danny.

"Come on, Kuri," Jazz said.. "Dinner." She lead her out of the room.

As she left, the light caught on the clock around her neck.

Xxx

Danny peered into Kuri's room the next morning, and saw her sleeping quietly.

"What a relief. Is she sleeping...? I don't believe it..."

Danny stared for a minute.

Kuri rolled over, whimpering. "Daddy..."

A tear fell, and she began to sob.

"She's...crying?" Danny went over to her and put the blanket on her. "Hey it's alright. I...I'm going to help you..."

Kuri's hand fell on his and clutched it. "Only Danny Phantom can stop him...the Ultimate Enemy..."

"Who...what?" Danny was shocked as his phone started to buzz.

He quickly left the room.

Xxx

Danny then went to see Tucker and Sam.

"I see," said Tucker. "So she's staying at your place after all, Usako."

"But we don't know what kind of bomb she might be carrying." Sam said. "We don't even know who this 'Clockwork' is. I'll come to take a look at her, too.

"Should we at least ask the police whether anyone's asked them to search for her?" Tucker said.

As they all talked, a little girl was watching them.

Xxx

Later Danny and his friends went to Nasty Burger.

"Hey," said Danny. "I brought new stuff from my parents lab!" He dropped two rings on the table. "This should counteract any ghostly attacks." He dropped wrist bracelets on the table. "And communicators. We must be prepared in case something happens."

"Awesome new gadgets!" Tucker said.

"Someone's gotta protect you from that brat." Sam said.

"I...I don't think she's evil." Danny said.

"What?!" The two of them said back.

"She's sad. Whoever this Clockwork guy is, he's in danger." Danny said. "She came so we would help her dad. I think she's just trying to play it safe. She doesn't really have any allies so maybe that's why she's so harsh with us."

"Is that so..." Sam looked at her watch. "Oh no!" she said. "I was going to be back at school by 4:30. I have preparations to make."

"What? Why?" Danny said.

"The school's having the Japanese Foreign Ambassador over." Sam said. "All the clubs are doing something. Come see me do a fortunetelling booth."

Xxx

Sam went to the Goth club and was surprised to see Valerie.

"What are you doing here?" They chorused.

"Well I'm happy for the help anyway." Valerie said. "Everyone around here is just sitting around. I got the booth up myself."

"Um...ok." Sam said.

"For some reason the others want us to focus on UFOs that people have been seeing in town, and spontaneous combustion." Valerie said. "Both have been in the papers, though if you believe in all that.."

"If I didn't I wouldn't be in this club." Sam stated angrily.

Star ran up, panting. "Valerie! Some other girl is reading fortunes like Sam!"

"Are you kidding me?" Sam got up to check it out. But she made sure she had the ring and bracelet given to her by Danny on, in case of a ghost.

She opened the tent to find a little girl reading fortunes of death and terrifying people.

"Hiya." She said. "I'm Kurozuki Bento! Can I read your fortune?"

"I don't want a fortune of death!" Sam snapped, her ring alerting her and telling her this was definitely a ghost.

"Cmon Sam don't make this worse." Valerie said, leading her away.

They were going back through the hall to their booth when they saw a teacher.

"I'm gonna tell the teacher about Bento!" Sam said.

Suddenly the teacher burst into flames.

"I told you! Spontaneous combustion!" Valerie said.

A group of teachers turned, laughing, with dominion crescents on their foreheads.

"What the hell?" Sam took out one of Maddie's lipsticks and zapped them, knocking them to the ground.

Danny saw this.

"Going Ghost!" He transformed and ran over to Sam, protecting her.

He used his Ghost Ray to knock the ghosts out of the teachers, but it didn't work.

"Look out!" Kuri pushed him down out of the way of their zap.

"Kuri?!" Sam said.

Tucker arrived then and he and Sam weakened the Teacher Ghosts with ghost weapons.

"I can't...push the ghosts outta them..." Danny said.

"You need my help." Kuri grabbed his hands.

A silvery gold light shone, and Danny's ghost ray turned silver.

"Try it now." Kuri said.

Xxx

Dan watched on a monitor. "That's...!"

"It can't be!" Ahri said.

"Its the Purification Light!" Dan said. "Only Clockwork can do that!"

"No." Ahri said. "Even at his strongest, Clockwork's light was never so bright as that woman's. And with Danny's added to it...they are invincible."

Dan slammed his fist down. "No one is invincible! His greatest power, is it? Make it his greatest weakness. We will get that woman from him, and shatter his strength!"

Xxx

"I understand now!" Danny shouted. "Together we are stronger!"

Bento was blasted away in a burst of light.

Fright Night approached them. But he looked different, stronger, older. "Blowing away Bento...but she was weak..." he says.

"The Fright Night!? Why do you look like that?!" Danny said.

"I am no longer the Fright Night. I am Osore, the Ghost of Fear! I have come for the Miko!"

"No way!" Sam jumped in front just as Osore attacked.

She was lifted off the ground, surrounded in fire.

Danny raised his hand to attack.

"Even if you eliminate me," Osore said. "That field of fire cannot be extinguished by anyone but my master."

Xxx

"Osore," said Dan. "Take her. Bring the girl to our time alive!"

Xxx

"Sam!" shouted Danny.

"My master has commanded it," said Osore. "I shall take the girl."

The flames lifted Sam into the sky.

"Sam!?" called Danny.

Osore disappeared with Sam in a flash of light.

"SAM!"

Kuri stood there watching, her father's words ringing in her ears.

"_Danny Phantom is invincible."_

She stared into the sky. _But Father, he was just defeated!_


	3. Secret

The light vanished into the sky, people at the festival look up at it. Kuri, Danny and Tucker rushed over. "Sam!" They shout.

"People are gathering!" said Tucker.

"Sam was...!" cried Danny.

The two looked around and saw Kuri watching. "Kuri!?"

"What are you doing here!?" said Tucker. "Were you... watching us!? You know something, don't you!? Oh no, was it your allies who took Sam..."

"Tucker!" Danny stepped in front of Kuri.

"Danny!?" said Tucker. "Why are you sticking up for her?"

"Calm down, Tucker!"

Kuri clutched her necklace, turned, and ran away.

"Hey!" Danny saw a key hanging from the chain on Kuri neck. _"What?" _she thought. _"A key!"_

"If you're too aggressive," said Danny, "we won't even be able to hear what information we can get from her."

"But...!" said Tucker. "Sam! So suddenly, without any warning... She was taken away in the blink of an eye!"

Danny ran off after Kuri.

Xxx

Danny entered his house.

"Danny?" said Maddie. "Weren't you with Kuri? Where is she?"

"I wouldn't worry..."

"Danny?" Maddie said.

"I don't know!" Danny said. "She said she's staying at a friend's house!" Danny walked away.

Danny looked out the window. "Rain..." The doorbell rang. He walks over to the door and opens it. Tucker stood outside. "Tucker!?"

"Come with me, Danny," she said. "That girl..." He followed him out and found Kuri sitting alone. "Kuri!?" He took her inside and tucked her into bed. "She probably didn't want to go home..." said Danny. "And while she was wandering around, she ended up here..."

They watched Kuri sleep. "Maybe it's best if she stays here." said Tucker. "

"This girl is frightened, since she's guarding abnormally against her surroundings. Knowing she has no hostility eases my mind completely. I don't think Kuri is an enemy." Danny said.

Xxx

_Kuri ran through the darkness. "Papa...Papa, where are you?"_

_"If anything should happen... You will do it somehow."_

_She looked up at Clockwork as they walk through the city of crystal._

_"Danny Phantom is invincible."_

_"Papa?!"_

_"Fledgling..."_

Xxx

She opened her teary eyes. "Papa..." she said. She buried her head in her pillow.

Danny and Tucker watched her with concern.

Danny approached her. "Did you have a sad dream?"

Kuri's eyes widen. "Yes."

They saw a key hanging on Kuri's necklace. Kuri jumps back and covers her neck.

"Is that your house key?" said Danny. _"That thing now...!"_ he thinks.

"Without this, I can't return home," said Kuri. "It's an important key..."

"Where is your house?" said Tucker.

"I don't know..." she said. "It was far away... And it was close..." Kuri looked up at him. "Say... Is Danny Phantom strong?"

"Yeah," said Danny. "Invincible."

"Maybe he'll save my dad..." she said.

She lay down on the bed. "Danny..." Tucker watched her.

"Kuri was carrying something that looked just like a key," said Tucker in hushed tones.

"I know, I saw it," said Danny. "It seems she came here to seek my...I mean, Danny Phantom's help. Let's keep an eye on her a little longer. Okay?"

Danny gazed at her.

"Cheer up, Danny." Tucker said.

Xxx

Tucker was playing chess. "Don't worry Danny. We will get Sam back. This Dominion must be another Faction of the Ghost Zone. If we have to we'll just go down there and kick all their butts. Sam is fine. She's strong. We'll get her back."

He headed out of the room.

"Something about those people... And Sam was like that, too." Valerie said.

Paulina looked at her. "They're not ordinary people," he said. "I smell a secret."

Valerie yawned as she walked to school in the morning. Danny passed by her.

"Hey."

"Oh!" said Danny. "Good morning!"

"Danny..." he said. "Something about that Danny Fenton... He acts so different."

"Umm, excuse me!" said Valerie. "Is this the way to the Club Room?"

"Going to Astronomy Club?" said Danny.

"Yes!" said Valerie.

"Hang in there." Danny said.

He shook Valerie's hand.

_"It's like an electric shock." _Valerie thought.

Danny smiled. "I'm sure you will do fine."

Valerie stared up at him.

A group of students played soccer on the field.

One swings his leg into the air toward the ball, and his shoe scraped against Danny's forearm as he blocked him.

"Sorry!" said Kwan. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, fine," said Danny.

"Go to the nurse's office!"

Danny walked off the field.

Valerie passed by.

_"What... Danny?"_ She thought.

She watched as Danny swept his hand over his scraped, bleeding arm.

The scrape and blood vanished.

_"He healed the injury... by himself!?"_ thought Valerie. _"Is he not human...?"_

"I think... Danny could be an alien..." She held her book bag over his shoulder. "No way, that's impossible..."

Xxx

Dan walked through the hall of the castle on the Dominion. He approached a stream of light rising into the air. "Whenever I look at it," he said, "this reactor has tremendous power."

"Dan," said Ahri. "As you instructed, we are using the energy of this reactor without worry, producing ghosts and sending them to that planet."

"Breathing life into mere droids," said Dan. "Your alchemy is splendid, Ahri."

"Dan," said Ahri. "I understand we've captured Sam. Your methods are always too forcible. What do you intend to do? It's dangerous."

"I do as I wish," said Dan. "Are you going to order me?"

"Come on, Ahri," said Fright Knight as he entered the room. "We have sworn our loyalty to Dan."

Fright Knight knelt before Dan. "Dan, I will follow your methods," he said. "Sam is imprisoned."

"Pariah," said Dan.

A figure in a black cloak, hunched over a crystal ball, appears behind him.

"As you desire, Dan," said Pariah. "There is utility value in that."

"As long as our goal has not been achieved," said Dan, "we'll keep her alive. We still have a long way to go."

"Dan. I am next." A woman with short blue hair and a braided ponytail steps forward. "Leave this to me, SkulkTech."

Xxx

Tucker was playing chess.

"Tucker is very good at chess." Dash said.

"She defeated the National Champion." Kwan said.

Tucker walked into the bathroom and heard Star scream.

"Tucker the water supply in the office is broken." Mr Lancer said.

Tucker listened closely to hear the flow of the water, and went outside to the water pipe in the backyard.

Mr Lancer followed her and joined a man with a shovel.

"There." Tucker said.

Water was spouting forth from a broken and bent pipe. Both are amazed that Tucker was able to find it.

SkulkTech stood aside and watched Tucker. Tucker noticed her and was suspicious.

Xxx

Tucker floated on his back in the swimming pool. _"I wonder who that person was... I can't clear my head of it... When I'm not concentrating on something, my thoughts go in bad directions. Sam..."_

"Hey!" Danny swam over with Kuri. "You have a membership here too?"

Kuri floated on her back.

"Well dad taught me to swim and play chess." Tucker said.

Xxx

Later Tucker was at the World Chess Tournament.

"Hello. I'm SkulkTech." SkulkTech said. "SkulkTech. I play chess using my electronic database."

"Huh I do too?" Tucker said. "I do that too."

"Interesting." SkulkTech said. "So like a friend of Danny Phantom. Now, tell me where the Fledgling is!"

Danny and Kuri rushed outside.

"Who is the Fledgling?!" Danny demanded.

Suddenly the crowd rushed at them and they were all ghosts. Two of them grabbed Tucker.

"Danny!" said Tucker. "Attack! These things aren't people! They're ghosts pretending to be people!"

"Going Ghost!"

Danny blew up several of them with his ghost ray, but couldn't risk hitting Tucker.

Tucker blasted the ghosts holding them with the lipstick blaster.

"Trying to beat me!?" said SkulkTech. He lifted a manhole cover off the street, and water shot up into the air.

It encircled Tucker and lifted him off the ground. Water poured around his head and into her mouth. _"I can't breathe!"_ she thought.

"Tucker!?" Danny blasted SkulkTech.

The water continued its hold on Tucker. "The water didn't free him!?"

"Heh heh..." Ahri appeared before them. "You'll never be able to undo SkulkTech's ball of water like that," she said.

Danny opened his hands to attack Ahri.

"Tucker!"

Ahri rose into the air with Tucker. They both disappeared in a bright flash of light.

"Tucker!?" screamed Danny.

Kuri looked up at Danny.

_"Danny Phantom is invincible."_

"TUCKER!"

Kuri stared into the sky.


	4. Infiltration

The next day, Danny wakes up screaming from a nightmare.

"Sam! Tucker! Noooo!" Danny sat up in bed, tears in his eyes.

Kuri peered through the door to his room.

_"Even in my dreams I never imagined something like this could happen,"_ thought Danny. _"Sam, and even Tucker, taken away in an instant, right before my eyes. The Dominion... Who are they!? What are they after!?"_

He turns around. "Who's there?" Kuri's black ball bounced outside her door. Danny stared at it. Water gushes out of the ball's eyes.

"Don't cry, lady," said the ball. "Don't cry, sir."

Danny jumped up, raising her pillow over her head. "What!? It talked!?"

"Don't smash Moggle!" Kuri said.

"Kuri!?" said Danny.

Kuri stood by the door. Danny looked at the ball.

"So, Moggle is... this!?" she said.

"What..." said Kuri. "Since you were crying, I thought you weren't feeling well..." She leaned against the wall, hanging her head.

_"What?"_ thought Danny. _"Could she have been... trying to cheer me up...?"_

Danny ran into the Crown Game Center.

"Kuri!? Did you follow me!?"

Danny and Kuri play with the UFO catcher at the arcade.

Danny saw Kuri holding an armful of candy.

"What the-!? Kuri!? What happened!?"

"Wow!" she said. "I got all the candy out!"

He pulled her back. "What kind of trick did you pull, come on!" he said.

Moggle sat on the game machine, beeping. _"Moggle!?"_ he thinks. _"Did she use this toy!? Could it be, it moved the crane at will!?"_

Danny looked at Kuri.

Danny patted her on the head. "Okay, Kuri," he said. "Are you satisfied from playing all these? Shall we be heading back?" He lifted her up in his arms. "Danny and the others have things to do now. And I have to go to prep school, so..." He went and drops her off at Danny's house.

Danny rubbed Kuri's head. "See you later, Kuri," he said as he waved. "Your new uniform is cute."

Xxx

Outside, Kuri looks up as rain starts to fall. She bounces the Moggle ball on the ground, and it changed into an umbrella.

A young girl stared at her, her mouth hanging open.

"Abracadabra!" said Kuri. "Poof!"

She pops open the umbrella, and a flock of birds flew out from it.

The girl ran to her mother. "Mommy! Did you see that!? Doves flew out from that girl's umbrella! It was an amazing trick!"

"Oh, really?" said her mother. "Well, it's getting cold, so let's go home now."

Danny saw Kuri. "Oh, Kuri?"

Kuri looked down. "Abracadabra," she said. "Abracadabra... Poof."

_"That is the charm that will always bring fun to you, Fledgling," said Clockwork, standing in the dark next to a tall marble door._

Kuri held the key hanging from her necklace. A bolt of lightning struck in the distance.

Danny approached her. "Kuri?"

She stares ahead.

_An explosion ripped through the city of crystal._

Danny took Kuri's hand. His eyes widened.

_Kuri screamed and covered her ears._

_"DANNY!" she cried._

She grabbed onto Danny.

"Kuri!?" he said.

She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "Danny?"

"What is it?" he said. "Did the sound of thunder scare you? It will go away. It's just echoing from a distance."

_"I'm sure I saw it now,"_ he thought. _"Just as I grasped Kuri's hand, it streamed into me. The image of some explosion. What was that!? The explosion of an enormous city...!?"_

Kuri held onto him. "Danny..." she said. Moggle bounced next to them, beeping.

As Danny wondered about the vision he saw holding Kuri.

Xxx

"Pariah," said Dan.

The cloaked figure appeared.

The bodies of Sam and Tucker floated on their backs before them.

"These two are just like that woman," said Dan. "I wonder if they too will continue to live young like this, without aging. Borrowing the Phantom's Power... So that is the infinite power that promises eternity. I want to see that boy's face when I smash it to pieces with my own hand."

"Haste makes waste," said Pariah. "Dan, calm yourself."

"Dan," said Ahri. "We should not look softly upon the Fledgling. We too are suffering unexpected losses. It would be best to proceed with the plan we've put such caution into. But my darling, you always do as you please..."

"Ahri," said Dan. Glass shattered next to Ahri, and a shard cut her cheek. "I am just saying we'll eliminate those who get in the way of our plan," said Dan. "I will not allow interference with my methods."

A woman steps forth from the shadows. "My pretty sisters... I, Ember XT, shall take revenge for Box Lunch and SkulTech. And let us proceed more boldly with the project! We will show them our power.

"Don't be in such a hurry," said Dan. "I wish to be alone. Leave this place." He pressed a button on a pad, and an image of Kuri dressed in a flowing white gown appears. "I will have everything I want. Everything."

Xxx

Danny walks inside, wearing a mask over his mouth and coughing. She was coughing and and collapsed to Kuri's shock. They rushed to the drug store to get medicine for her, taking her with them. Kuri tried to bring our Danny's usual cheer and asked her if he thought the girl behind the pharmacy counter is cute, but he doesn't notice and said he's going home. Kuri insisted that she'd take him home.

"What's wrong?" said Kuri. "You're always in perfect health, Danny."

"Nothing," said Danny. "I just haven't been able to sleep much, and I've had things to investigate, and end up awake all night..."

"Why overexert yourself like that...?" said Kuri. She reached toward her, and cried out as she felt cold.

"Oh, you shouldn't touch me now," said Danny. He smiled weakly. "I have a cold constitution, and it becomes obvious when I get sick. That now was a cold snap." He started swaying back and forth. "You see, since I manipulate ice and snow... Oh, I'm getting kind of dizzy..."

"Danny!? Hold on!" Kuri took him to her apartment, room 201. The room was is full of books and artifacts, and there was a framed photograph of an older looking Danny and Kuri that Danny noticed. Kuri gave him her favorite kind of tea, rose tea. He turns on the television, to see the news speak of strong storms and that more mystery circles were discovered in the city.

Danny looked at Kuri and remarked on the strange events happening, Danny then confronted Kuri, asking:

"Sam and Tucker were taken away...What is your power? We're in trouble!"

Kuri grimaced, then smiled calmly.

"Everything will be alright." She said. "You are my most precious person. I know you care about me with all your heart, and I haven't said a thing. I just dragged you along in this. I wasn't able to treasure you very much. This whole time we've had this objective, and I have forgotten how important you are to me, Danny."

Kuri turned to him.

"There isn't much I can tell you right now. But I need you to protect me for a little longer. If you can do that...then we can save Tucker and Sam."

Kuri put her head in her hands. "I'm just a child after all. If I were stronger...as strong as you perhaps...I'd be able to help you...I'd be able to do more."

Light glowed between them as she takes his hand. "If I had the power," she said, "I would protect you."

Danny kissed her on the forehead and smiled. He looked at her. "I won't tell anyone." He walked outside into the pouring rain.

Danny leaned back. "Oh no, my mind is getting hazy..."

"This is an official weather warning," said the announcer on television. "There is worry of being hit by a large typhoon." The picture and sound faded into static.

_"The TV!?_" thought Danny. _"Is there an electric field?"_ He looked outside and saw a glowing saucer-shaped object. "What's that!? That light...!? Could it be, a UFO!?" He held his head. "It looks like that ball of fire that took away Sam and Tucker..." He collapsed on the ground.

Xxx

Kuri cradled Danny in her hands. "Danny?" she said. "Help! Danny is being attacked."

Ember stood in front of the glowing disk, with a group of demons behind her. "Letting loose on the wind the malignant virus from this saucer and infecting them," she said. "Soon the seizures should be reaching their peak as well." She faced the demons. "For everyone in this area, their life spans will not last much longer. The time has come for you to replace them. Go forth, ghost army! Infiltrate human society, and change this society to the society of the Dominion!" The demons assumed the form of humans.

"Such pain... I can't breathe!? Ugh...!?" Danny opened his eyes and saw his duplicate standing over him, its hands gripping his neck. "It's me!?" He reached for Kuri.

"I won't let them hurt you!" Kuri ran to him.

Danny lifted the duplicate over his head. "If you're going to become me, you'll have to be better than that!" He threw it against the wall, and it reverted to the form of a ghost. He looked out the window at the flying saucer. "That disk!" He ran outside.

"Oh, you failed to die?" said Ember. "How dare you kill my friends. I am Ember XT, and I shall return it to you a hundredfold."

Danny attacked her with a Ghost Ray.

"You think you're so powerful..." Ember said.. "I'll show you! His power is greater!"

Ember used her guitar and the power reverberated back at Danny.

Danny fell against the wall, and then attacked her again a sound coming from him and scaring Ember.

"NO! That was—" Ember screamed and vanished.

"She was so scared of me..." Danny said.

Ahri looked down at him. "That Danny looks so small," he says. "Dan, too, is one to play a cruel game."

Kuri looked up at the sky. "Sister...why...?"

Xxx

Kuri peered through the doorway. Danny was asleep in bed. She sat beside him, then slowly stood up and went down to the lab, where she took several ghost hunting tools and strapped them on.

Danny groggily opened his eyes. "Wh- who's there...?"

The room was empty. He looked over and saw Kuri was missing. "Kuri?"

Danny chased Kuri down.

Kuri turned around, alarmed, standing at the Fenton Portal. She held the InfiMap.

"I knew you stole it!" Danny said. "Give it back!"

Kuri clutched it against her chest.

"Come on, now!"

Moggle bounced on the ground between them.

A blast hit the ground, and they jump out of the way. "Oh, you're quick," said Ahri, appearing in the air between them. "As should be expected of the Fledgling and the Phantom. But not quick enough to escape!" She raised her arm and a surge of power shot at the two.

"Kuri!" Danny cried.

Danny jumped forward and carried Kuri away from the attack. He turned around and zapped Ahri, injuring her face.

Ahri held his hand to the cut. "You... injured me... I am Ahri, and now I'll show you the true power of my Fox Fire."

_"Oh no!" _thought Danny.

_"He'll defeat us!"_ thought Kuri.

_**"Use your power. Only you can protect the two of you!"**_

_"I feel it,"_ Danny thought, as he watched Ahri gathering energy. _"Your help..."_

_**"Focus all your strength at him... Then shout!"**_

_"Who is that!?"_ he thought. _"The voice is familiar..."_ He held up his arms. _"My power... in my voice..."_

Danny opened his mouth and screamed with his Ghostly Wail.

"Damn!" Ahri said. "It's wiping out my flames!" Ahri disappeared.

_"My power..."_ thought Danny. _"That voice..."_

"Kuri," Danny said. "Why did you take the InfiMap? Where were you running away to?"

Kuri looked up at Danny. "I know... I had to get the InfiMap... I can't use it... I learned that only the InfiMap of the past could do it. I was planning to steal the Ring of Rage and Crown of Fire from King Pariah before 'he' could do it the future. It's dangerous, but with those two... With that power, I might be able to save it... So I came here." She pulled the Ring of Rage from her pocket. "I already got the Ring of Rage."

Danny gasped. "The past... and the future!? Kuri, what are you saying!?"

"Save it, Danny Phantom! Save the future Earth...save me...save my father...from Dan Phantom—your future self!


	5. Dystopia

"Kuri... You... You came from the future!?"

"I crossed time," she says. "I came here from the future. I didn't believe it at first, but it's true. There was a sudden explosion... the Nasty Burger, and everyone... I want to save you Danny, and Dark Danny's always been after me. But I don't know how to do it. I don't really know what happened..." She rested in Danny's arms.

"Take us to the future." Danny said.

"I-I can't..." Kuri said. "I p-promised Clockwork I wouldn't..."

"We are on your side." Danny patted her head. "Let's go home." Tucker said.

Xxx

Kuri stood in Danny's bedroom, wearing one of Danny's nightgown's.

"You can sleep in this bed," he says. She gets in it, and pulls the covers up. "Can I ask you something?" he says. "Did you come here alone? From the future, I mean."

She closed her eyes. "Nope, I came with Moggle."

_"Just Moggle.." _Danny thinks. _"She came to the past to protect herself. Could she be linked to my evil self?_"

"Kuri," he says. "If you want us to help you, you can't run away anymore. But you didn't run from your problem. You came here. That's great. You're strong."

She feels Danny's arms around her. "Danny!?"

He holds her close. _"I didn't know she was feeling like this,"_ he thinks.

"I'm worried..." Kuri says. "I don't want to lose you, Danny."

He hugs her tightly. "I don't want to lose you either, Kuri. I want to be with you, always." He rests her down on the floor and lays over her. "I want to protect you." He presses his lips to hers. She wraps her arms around him...

Xxx

Kuri was dreaming of a warning from the Observants long ago.

"Kuri." Observant said. "You must never travel through time. Time is controlled by a solitary figure and entry is not allowed."

Kuri looked up at the Observant, her child eyes wide.

"Time is the last and final taboo."

Xxx

Kuri woke.

_They offered their help. I can't run away again. _

She stares through the window at the rising sun.

Danny walked in. "Kuri?"

"I'm going to the future," she says. "Danny. Come with me."

Xxx

Night fell over the park. Danny stood outside with Kuri, who holds up the key from her necklace. She reveals to the others that they key is a 'space-time key' used to time travel and it is how she came from the future.

"Fledgling," said Clockwork in her memory. Clockwork held an ornate staff. His form shifted in age. "The highway of time isn't allowed. Using it, or even knowing about it is strongly forbidden."

_"Danny may not be able to go to the future," _thinks Kuri.

"Don't let go of my hand," she says.

She raises her key into the air. "Tempus Custos! Dilacerant caelum et aperire ianuam spatii-temporis ad me voca me cum vera Dei omnipotentis dei nomine temporis tempus custos pater? Chronon? Indica mihi iter luminis"

A blinding vortex of light flashes in the sky above her. Danny exclaim over the brightness and the overwhelming, crushing pressure around them from the vortex.

Kuri is drawn by the vortex. Danny grabs onto her arms. "Kuri!?" Her grasp begins to slip, and Kuri flies into the light. "Oh no!" cries Danny. "Kuri!?" The wind roars around her. "Kuri!?"

Xxx

At the same moment, Dark Danny realized that the time vortex has been opened by someone without using the black crystal. They know it is Kuri and that she has brought with her the remaining members of his family.

Pariah Dark appears. "Dark Danny. The time has come. Now, destroy the, the successor to the time power, and the life of Danny!"

"Dark Danny," Ahri said. "I will present the beautiful fledgling to you. Come: Nocturne!"

"I will take the girl for you, Dark Danny!" Nocturne said. "As you know, I was always her greatest weakness. She has more delicious nightmares than any human I have ever encountered."

Xxx

Danny saw a large wooden door surrounded in mist. "Is that... the Gate!?"

"Stop!" a voice called. "From here is the Otherworld. You cannot proceed." Clockwork stepped forward. He carried a long staff resembling a key. "I am the watcher of the space-time door, the guardian of the underworld. And I will eliminate those who violate the law."

Danny gasped.

Clockwork held his staff out and shouted, "Mortuus Clamor!"

Danny cried out in pain as wind whipped sharply across his skin.

"Danny Phantom," Clockwork said. "No matter who you are, I cannot allow you to break the law. My mission must be to destroy you." He raised his staff again.

"Wait!"

He turned around and saw Kuri running quickly toward her.

"You've got it wrong!" said Kuri. "I brought her here! Don't kill her!"

Clockwork lowered the staff. "As you wish Fledgling."

"This is my Master! His name is Clockwork, to the ghosts, or Chronos, to humans. Or rather that is his title as the deity of Space-Time. Chronos chooses his appearance. He does this so trespassers drop their guard."

"Who is this Clockwork? Why did I not see him before?" Danny asked.

"Clockwork only exists at this Gate. This is the Gate that leads to the Otherworld." Kuri said.

Clockwork smiled as he watched them. "Your family has had me here since long ago. Now go. The door has opened." He motioned toward the door.

Kuri held onto Danny's arm. "This is it, Danny."

"Wait," said Danny. "What about you, Clockwork?"

"I cannot leave here," Clockwork said. "Danny Phantom, please protect our Fledling."

Kuri and Danny stared at the light shining through the large doorway. "On the other side... The Other World..." They walked through.

Xxx

_"This... is the future..."_ thinks Danny. _"Such a quiet city."_

"This doesn't feel right," Danny says. "It's too quiet. We should look a little closer."

Kuri holds onto Danny's arm, looking at the ground.

They see buildings devastated and torn down. "Everything's ruined..." A fog surrounds them as they walk further into the city.

"Why aren't there any people?" asks Danny. "Oh my god!" He sees decaying corpses scattered across the ground.

Danny looks out and sees a giant black column of stone in a clearing. "A black monument... What is that?"

Kuri hugs him tightly. "Kuri!? What's wrong? Is this painful for you?"

_**"Don't come any closer."**_

_"That voice again..."_ he thought. _"Who is it?"_

"This place looks dangerous," he says. "What on earth happened here? What is this? It just looks like some cluster of rocks..."

"There was an unbelievably huge explosion," Kuri says. "Afterwards, this was all that was left. In one moment, the flash of light leveled all these buildings. Since then, San Francisco has been veiled in mist. I don't know why I survived while everyone else... died... As time went by, their bodies deteriorated..."

"Was it the Dominion that attacked?" asks Danny.

"I don't know..." she says. "Come with me...to Fentonworks."

"Fentonworks!?" They approach the large house before them. They disappear outside the wall, and reappear inside. But this is a trap. The servant of Ahri appear. Nocturne multiplies and comments on what an honour it is to meet the Fledgling and the ghost of legend, Danny Phantom. He zapped Kuri, causing her to faint into her nightmares, screaming. Danny tried to attack him, but it wouldn't work. Nocturne informed him that there is a magnetic field that prevented his power.

Ahri appeared in the air. "So you've cornered them... In this lovely monument. These people from the past are no match for the power of the Dominion. Behind me is the real Fentonworks. It was blown away."

"That's a lie!" yells Kuri, coming out of her nightmare. "Vlad promised to protect this city! It can't be destroyed. And you can't defeat us! Y-You're supposed to be my sister!"

"You're sure a brat," Ahri says. She raised the crystal barrier higher around them. "Siblings means nothing. Family means nothing! Just look at Dark Danny!"

Danny's eyes widened.

"Such a sad end... Nocturne will let his Sleepwalkers eat you, and you'll all be blown to bits."

Danny hears the voice in his head. _**"Listen! It's not real crystal! Break it!" **_He raises his arms and smashes through the crystal. "Get down!" He grabs the others and drops to the floor. "Get down!"

The crystal barrier exploded around them.

"No!" says Nocturne. "It didn't work right!"

"Now!" yelled Danny. He used his ghost ray.

The attacks shot at Nocturne, and he was destroyed in a burst of light. Ahri left.

Danny looked back. "The voice..." he thinks. "Who is it? This house...it looks like...Is this Fentonworks?"

Kuri runs to the front of the manor, where a large door appears. They walk inside.

There was a memorial to the deceased Fenton Family, Tucker, Sam, and Lancer, and and an order to find and capture Kuri.

Suddenly a white light appeared and Vlad Masters was standing, smiling.

"I did make you a promise, Kuri."

Shocked, Danny stared at Vlad.

"I'm sorry, my boy." Vlad said. "This is a future I never wanted you to have to see."


	6. Stolen

Kuri stepped forward. "Vlad, you're alive!?" She ran to Vlad and hugged him.

"You're safe," Vlad said.. "Your journey to the past was dangerous, but your judgment was fit for a warrior, Kuri."

"Vlad..." Kuri said.

He turns to the others. "I'm glad you've come to the future to visit our home. There's been a terrible battle. I wouldn't want you to see this future. I wanted to meet you, but... not this way." He turned around and started to walk around the room. "It's possible there was a misunderstanding with Dark Danny, so I was surprised when it happened."

"Come on, Kuri," said Vlad. "Have you properly introduced yourself?"

"My name is Kurisuta Hikawa Watanabe, Apprentice to Clockwork," Kuri said. "I am fiancée to Daniel Fenton, though unwilling, and on the run for my life."

Vlad grinned. "I taught her that."

"So that is why evil me was after you?" Danny said.

There was an explosion outside.

"Vlad! Danny! Stay here! I will protect my family!" Kuri shouted and ran outside to face Ahri once more.

Ahri appears in the air above her. "Well, well. Seems you're defenseless. What happened to your beloved Danny?'

"I will protect him! I will stop you and save the real Danny Phantom and his family!" Kuri snapped.

Kuri felt two hands wrap around her neck from behind. Ahri laughs as the hands choked the girl. They raised her into the air. "Well, duck. You have the blood of ancient magic. Show me your power."

Kuri tried to breathe.

"Kuri!" called Danny. He rushed toward her, followed by Vlad.

He shot a ghost ray and Ahri let go of Kuri.

"Why?" Kuri said. "Why am I the only one who can't use my power!?"

Dark Danny appeared in the air behind her. "They blew away Ahri..."

Xar appeared beside him. "But, I don't think it was done by the girl's power."

Kuri turns around and looked at them.

"I hope you're pleased with your future, my other self. Soon, things will be very different."

"Dark Danny!" yelled Kuri. "What do you want!? What are you doing with this planet!? Where are the others? Tell me!"

"_It's_..." thinks Dark Danny. "_Those eyes... From when... she was staring at me_..."

He held out his hands and activated his power.

Kuri gasps. "I can't move my body! I can't even move my eyes."

"Kuri!" Danny called. "Don't look into his eyes!"

Dark Danny bound Kuri with energy and grabbed her. The two faded in black light.

Danny rushed forward. "KURI!"


	7. Lost

The air is filled with darkness.

"Where am I?"

Two people appear in the distance. A man with long blonde hair embraces a woman with red hair

"Dark Danny?" The woman looks back. "Ahri?" Kuri runs toward them. "Wait!" The two people run away from her. "Where are you going? Don't leave me!"

Kuri opens her eyes. She sits up on the ground. "My head hurts... What happened to me...?" She sees herself wearing an elegant white dress. "What... What am I wearing!? My brooch!" She looks around for it and finds it on the floor next to her. She stands up. "Where is this?" She sees the image of a woman being projected above a stone pedestal. "Is that me?" She walks up to it.

"I find that hologram pleasing."

Kuri turns around and sees Dark Danny.

"I'm glad you've come to the castle of Dominion, Kuri, my Queen. That is a more suitable name for you. I am Dark Danny, of the Dominion. I want to talk with you. Have a seat." He motions with his hand and Kuri falls back onto a chair. He sits on a stone pedestal. "My attack fully used my dark powers. You woke up quickly. As expected, your body is influenced by good magic. But, this castle might be tough on that body."

"Oh no..." Kuri thinks. "This... is Dominion?" She looks at the man. "You're the one who attacked Fentonworks! Dark Danny!"

"Yes," he says. "I wanted to show you that good magic isn't the only thing that carries immense strength. The fantasy world of long life and infinite power... Our planet Earth... We didn't like it." Dark Danny stands with Ahri. They stare at the sparkling Fentonworks.

Xar appears.

"Young traitors," he says. "If you desire power, go to the Dominion Castle in the Ghost Zone. If you want to have everything... Gain the Dark Power."

"We took the Dark Power and put it to use," Dark Danny continues. "The planet turned into a planet of death. It had power far beyond our expectations. We were fed up with the influence of good magic. We wanted nothing to do with that Earth. We would create a new Earth. To the past, before the good magic's influence started. We went to the past. We would rewrite history. That is our magnificent Replay operation. The recreation of history."

Kuri gasps. "The recreation of history!?"

"Long life and peace are deceptive. With good magic, the people don't age. That's blasphemy toward god. Their bodies must die. We will repeat the fight of the past, and return to our correct history."

"You're crazy!" Kuri says. "Go to the past and start history over again!? That's insane!"

"All time and space is merely energy," says Dark Danny. "The all-powerful Dominion of Dark Power. If we control the still unknown power of the Underworld we will be able to take all the dimensions of the universe. That good magic came first means nothing. This has a larger power. And that beautiful world will be ours."

A large explosion blasts in the city. Toxic gas fills the air. People on the streets begin to choke. They fall to the ground, coughing. A young woman cries.

"You noisy brat!"

Two hands wrap around the woman's neck. The skin on her body dissolves.

Kuri rushes out. "Ahri!?"

"I saw her then. A woman like I couldn't even have dreamed of. She lived in the manor, and so I had never seen her before. An ultimate power. Kuri Hikawa. Such a beautiful queen. But she despised me. She thought I wasn't even human. Her eyes rejected me."

Kuri stares defiantly at Dark Danny.

A mark on his forehead glows. A beam of light shoots at her

She disappears from his view

"That was the first time I saw that terrible power. The power of that woman. Then you disappeared. Since then, I haven't been able to forget those eyes. I wanted to meet her again, and make her kneel before me. And I got her. In any form, at last, I have her." He approaches Kuri and holds her head. "Those eyes. The beautiful ultimate power."

Kuri's eyes widen as he kisses her deeply. She shoves him away. "No!" She attempted to use her power.

Dark Danny laughs as nothing happens.

"I can't transport!?"

"This part of the Ghost Zone is imbued with the energy of the Dark Power," says Dark Danny. "It absorbs all kinds of power, and turns them into nothingness. Even the power of good magic. You are free to wander around the palace. This is your eternal resting place. Ahaha!"

"They're all crazy!" Kuri thinks. "They aren't human... They're demons!"

Xxx

Danny's head jerks back.

"Danny?" Vlad looks at him.

He looks around. "...It's nothing." He turns back to the large viewscreen with Vlad. "Dominion has disappeared from the Ghost Zone again. But even though we can't see it, it's still releasing strong negative energy."

"It disappeared..." says Vlad. "The Dark Power is distorting space?"

Danny types into the computer. "There's radiation from line X... The orbit of Dominion is sucking in gases and light. It's just like a black hole."

"A black hole..." says Danny. "The end of a star. Dominion is a planet of unstable growth. But, still, like a black hole, it takes in surrounding gases and light while it grows. Since the Dominion captured that part of the Underworld, its activity has been rapidly increasing. It's dangerous."

"Vlad!" Danny says. "Kuri, Sam and Tucker are on that castle! We have to save them at once!"

"I know," he says. "We have to find a way to get there. The Dark Power draws and distorts all the energy around it. Such a terrible stone... The polar opposite of Good Magic. A horrible planet... Dominion."

"We can only rescue them with the power of Good Magic," says Danny. "But without Kuri, we can't use it here in the future. What can we do?"

"Ahri," Danny says. "Since Ahri is the sister of Kuri, she should be able to use the magic. She carries the blood of the Watanabe, so she must..."

Vlad looks down. "Ahri has no power. How old do you think she is? She may not look it, but she's nine hundred years old."

"Nine hundred!?"

"Yes... One day, she suddenly just stopped growing. She never acquired any power, or the ability to transform. She was born as a new child of Earth, carrying the blood of the Watanabe. We don't fully understand her."

"But if Ahri doesn't carry any power," Danny says, "and she's supposed to be Kuri's partner..."

"No," says Vlad. "It will definitely awaken! It will be her mission to protect this world alongside her sister. The way you three once did."

"Vlad," says Danny. "How long has this dispute with the Dominion been going on? When did they first appear?"

"Once... years ago... In Earth's most beautiful and peaceful San Francisco. He brought crime and slaughter. The leader appeared... The insane ruler, Xar. A black crescent moon mark adorned his forehead. The defender of the until-then quiet world of Good Magic, Kuri, trained by Clockwork, rose up against him. She captured him and banished him to Dominion, a dark region of the Ghost Zone. Then she blocked the region off. Peace soon returned, and in time people forgot. Then the traitors appeared and declared themselves the Dominion. They said they would kill the Phantom Legacy."

"The same black mark on their foreheads..." says Danny. "Are they the descendants of Xar?"

"They don't have the system of long life. Xar was buried centuries before, so we don't know whether they are or not..."

Danny sees Kuri's pendant lying on the floor. He picks it up. "It's cracked..." he thinks as he looks at it. He closes his eyes and looks down. "The pendant... The mark of the queen...! I swore that I'd protect her. Kuri! I will rescue you! Kuri!"

xxx

"Danny!?" Kuri sits up in her bed. "Must have imagined it... Danny...Vlad... I'm too far away for their voices to reach me. I'm scared... I can't even transform. I'm really alone..." Tears streak from her eyes. "Someone besides Danny kissed me. Oh, Danny... I might never see you again... When I was fighting, I was only worried about Ahri and Danny. I wasn't paying attention... And now I could be dying. Damnit, Kuri, open your eyes. But, now... It's too late... I can't transform or use my power. What about my mission... Will somebody tell me what to do? I don't want to die here!"

"Kuri, remember..." Kuri sees an image of Clockwork. "The Good Magic depends on your spirit."

"Did my heart make that illusion...?" Kuri thinks. "I had no confidence. I forgot my believing heart. Is that why I couldn't use my power? "I'm the next in the Clockwork Line. Kuri. I will protect Earth, and everyone!"

"Save me sister!" Ahri said in her mind

"I want to give you my strength," said Danny in her mind.

"Kuri!" the others say in her mind. "Kuri!"

"Kuri... I'm always thinking of you." Danny said in her mind.

"I'm not alone," Kuri says. "I'm not alone. Believe, Kuri, in your power. I have to act now. I must find Sam and Tucker. They have to be on Dominion. Sam! Tucker!"

Sam and Tucker lay in darkness. They slowly opened their eyes. Sam Sits up, holding her head, and calls out Kuri's name. Slowly they all awake and realize that they have no power. Wondering where they are, they are shocked and disgusted to find themselves surrounded by a pile of rotting corpses. They look around and see rocks lining the walls, all in darkness.

"Are we in a cave?" says Sam. "How did we get here?"

"Let's get out of here," Tucker says, "and talk later. I heard Kuri's voice inside my head."

"I heard it too," says Sam. "Is she nearby!?"

The eyes in one of the corpses begin to glow. Gas fills the room.

"What the-!?" says Tucker. "Intense strength... It's taking my energy!"

The two collapse on the ground.

Sam gasps as she slips out of consciousness. "Kuri!"

Kuri's head jerks up. "Sam, Tucker? Did I just get some reaction from them!?"

Xar laughs. "Heh heh... Sam and Tucker. I no longer have any use for you. In that stone prison, the Room of Darkness, you will shrivel up and rot away." His eyes glow brightly. The face of Ahri appears in his crystal ball.

Ahri wanders through the streets. "I thought Dark Danny loved me..."

"She has a strong heart, and amazing friends, and she carries a matchless power." Ahri mused about her sister.

"I don't have any power... Even though I'm her sister."

She remembered a time when she was teased.

Xxx

"She doesn't have the power of the Phantom Legacy!"

"She's going to be short forever!"

"She's nothing like her sister."

"Hey!" the boy calls. "Come on, show me your power! Like Kuri!"

Ahri runs away, crying.

"But I don't even look like my sister. I'll never be a lady like her. I can't be that good... My wondrous sister. She's most important to Dark Danny."

"Don't you know?" says the kid. "You're not Kuri's real sister. That's what everyone says."

"You're a fake!"

"No!" she cries. "I'm Kuri's real sister!"

"Then how come she never takes care of you?"

She looks down. "My sister's busy..."

"If you're really magical, then you can use Good Magic. Hmph. I bet you've never even seen the Book! Why don't you show it to us. Otherwise, you're just a liar like I thought."

Ahri peers into the room. The Grimoire sits in a glass case in the center of the room. She picks up a hovercam and throws it at the case. The glass shatters. She holds the book. "This... is Good Magic."

"Ahri?"

Ahri rushes behind the wall.

Kuri sees the shattered glass. She gasps as she notices the Book missing. "Ahri!?"

Ahri cowers in fear. A noise sounds in the distance outside the palace. A storm blows through the air. Ahri gets up. "What? What's happening? Sister!? Sister, where are you!?"

A large explosion blasts in the city. Toxic gas fills the air. People on the streets begin to choke. They fall to the ground, coughing. A young woman cries.

Kuri rushes out of Fentonworks. "Ahri!?"

Ahri runs up and sees Kuri disappear. She gasps. "Sister!"

"It's my fault," she says, tears in her eyes. "If I hadn't taken the Book, Sister would..."

"Clockwork..." Ahri holds the ball. "I'll go to him. He's my only friend."

She walks through the halls of the palace. "Deep in the palace... The very deepest part... At the end of the deepest hallway... I found the door. It opened to my touch. It was so light..."

Ahri comes upon a large door. She pushes on the door, and it slides open.

Clockwork stands inside, holding a long staff. He kneels down. "Greetings, Ahri."

"You know me?" Ahri asks.

"Only kindred of the Watanabe Line can come to this place. I am Clockwork. I am the guardian of this door. You and Kuri are two peas in a pod. Surely, you'll become a beautiful lady too."

"She was the first one besides my sister to say that."

"Whenever you're sad, say 'Abracadabra.' That magic word will make you happy."

"Abracadabra?" says Ahri.

"Pon!" Clockwork points her staff out and flowers appear from nowhere, filling the air.

"Wow! That's great!" She looks at the staff. "Clockwork, what is that?"

"It's my Time Key," she says.

While Ahri wanders the streets remembering these thinks, Danny has gone to see Clockwork, in search of Ahri.

"I thought for sure she'd come here," says Danny.

"Don't worry, Danny," says Clockwork. "She'll turn up. The princess will be all right. Besides, Moggle is with her."

"I suppose. Clockwork, Kuri has also been taken by the enemies. The situation is very grave. Please lend your strength to Vlad and me. I'm depending on you."

"Yes, Danny." Clockwork smiles. "Of course."

Ahri watches the two in the distance. "Clockwork?" she thinks. "This is the first time I've seen him looking so happy. The Clockwork I know always looked a little depressed."

Clockwork smiles. "This is the first time you've come here to visit me."

"He only smiled around me..." She looks down. "Now there's nowhere for me to go..." The key on her necklace drops to the ground.

Clockwork turns around as Danny leaves. "Ahri?" She picks up the key. "This is... the space-time key I gave to Ahri!? Oh no! Ahri!"

Ahri runs through the black space, with Moggle following close behind her. "I've gone so far... Where am I? It's dark, and cold... I'm always running through time and space... This is scary. I should go back." She feels her neck, where the silver crystal hangs alone. "The key... It's gone!? Where did I lose it!?"

A dark, cloaked figure appears before her, sitting behind a crystal ball. "Well..." he says. "Look who's come all the way out here... Seems you're lost."

"Who are you?" Ahri asks.

"The cloaked spirit of darkness... Without saying farewell to your world, you can't come here to the end of the earth. Awaken your knowledge!"

A glowing dark mark appears on Ahri's forehead.

"I am what you have been seeking... I need you... Come with me." He holds out his hand. "Come..." She slowly reaches for it. "Take my hand, and come with me."

The key begins to glow in Clockwork's hands. "Ahri!?" He calls.

Ahri takes Xar's hand. A blinding burst of light flashes in the darkness.


	8. Storm

Clockwork stares in horror. "That storm...!? I have to stand guard. I must call for order! Nothing like this has happened before. Chaos is storming... Ahri!? Something's happened to Ahri! I can feel... danger... danger... Ahri!" She falls to the ground. The key rod hits the floor next to her.

Danny is in the manor. Danny briefly sees a vision of the sleeping Kuri. "What...!?" he thinks. "I felt something in my chest."

Danny looks up from the book in his hands. "Ahri?"

"I'm going to see Clockwork," Danny says. "I have a bad feeling."

"Look," he realizes. "Look, I've found something. It's a file on the incident in question." She read from the screen: "'Xar. Among the highest class of demons of the past Triad. Has these special abilities: death hands and evil vision.' According to the records, he destroyed Amity Park all by himself. He made it like a city of crime. He brought it to ruin. It was a terrible time. The enemy was human, but with his special powers, Kuricouldn't kill him. So she banished him to the most distant planet of the solar system. He was sent to the cursed depth of the Ghost Zone, Dominion. From then on, nobody was allowed to approach that planet."

"The constant disasters..." Danny says. "The fights we lost... They were all caused by that cursed Ghost Zone, Dominion."

Xxx

Danny approaches the space-time door. Strong winds blow through the air. He sees the fallen guardian. "Clockwork!?" He runs over to her. "Are you all right?"

"Clockwork," says Danny. "This storm... What happened!?"

"Danny," Clockwork says. "Ahri... She dropped her key. I saw her vanish in the distance."

"Ahri!?" Danny thinks.

"This storm came from the direction she was in. Something happened to her. For a moment, I felt a strong reaction... She went through some kind of change. The change created this storm in space-time."

"Ahri vanished on the other side of this storm..." says Danny. He runs off into the storm.

"Danny!?" Clockwork calls. "Stop! With the key gone, you shouldn't go there! Come back! Danny!"

"DANNY!" he yells.

Xxx

"Was that really them?" Kuri thinks. "Sam... Tucker... I'm sure I felt something from them. But in a moment, it was gone. I feel something evil..." She wanders around the palace. "The castle is like a maze... I walk around and around, and everywhere looks the same. Where are they!? Where? They have to be in this castle. What am I going to do..." She leans against a wall, next to a door. "I've only been walking for a little while, but I'm getting so weak..." She hears voices coming from the other side of the door. "People talking...?"

"What's wrong with our prince?" asks Fright Knight. "And where he put the future Ultimate Power? We should put the place to good use. It's full of the power of the Darkness. Bodies don't last long in there. Are the three soldiers still alive?"

"We only captured them to lure in Kuri," says Skulker. "We no longer need them. We'll leave them in the Room of Darkness, where they'll just rot away.

"They're alive!?" Kuri thinks. "The Room of Darkness!? They took the others... to get me!?"

"Nobody wants to get near that underground prison," says Skulker.

"I know..." says Fright Knight. "It has no doorways. Its inhabitants ceased to be people of this world long ago... All that remains are gruesome corpses. Anything can happen in there. That place is most unpleasant. We should deal with it quickly. What are you afraid of? I don't know what happened in the past, but the tales say the prison was used."

"This planet is dangerous," Skulker says. "It feels like its intentions are changing. We can control here, but... We might only be pawns..."

Kuri lies on the floor. "They're in the underground prison... The Room of Darkness..." She drifts off to sleep.

Dan enters the room and picks her up in his arms.

Dan sets her down on a bed.

"Danny..." she mumbles.

"Danny!?" Dan slaps her across the face. He stares at his hand in shock.

Kuri sits up, holding her hand out glowing with power. "Don't touch me...!"

"Hold yourself together, Kuri," she thinks. "If you ever want to see him again, you can't die here!"

"Where are my friends!?" she says. "Where's the underground prison!?"

"They're pretty," says Dan. "But they're no longer alive."

"They are alive!" Kuri shouts. "I'll find them!" She runs away.

Skulker stands outside in a circle of stone pillars. In the center is a glowing black beam of light, rising into the sky. "Ember. Spectra." Two amorphous figures appear in the black pillar of light. They address him. "Skulker."

"You have been using large amounts of energy to make finished ghosts," he says. "The ghosts are good. Your plans have never failed us."

Kuri rushes out of the castle and stops as she sees Skulker standing before the stream of light. "What is that...!?"

Skulker turns around. "Hello, future Ultimate Power. The beautiful ruler... You've come to the core of Dominion, the reactor of the Darkness."

"The Darkness reactor!?"

"This reactor is the only release of the power coming from the inside of the Ghost Zone. You, too, have come from here to this planet. This is where we sent off the ghosts to the past, for our project."

Kuri gasps. "Their project to change history..." she thinks.

"Breathtaking, isn't it? The power of the Ghost Zone. But it's like we're sitting on dynamite. It's growing... Upsetting the balance of this planet. It's dangerous. My brothers don't understand. Time travel, and making ghosts, takes huge amounts of energy. We're putting a lot of strain on the fusion reactor, using all that energy. We don't know what kind of effect that has. This planet is like Dan. He's ruinous. His plans always went wrong. He put the Darkness into Earth, and made it a planet of death. That wasn't part of the plan. I'd like to let you go... Then he appeared before us. The Xar. He guided us. I wonder if that's what he came to do. On this cursed planet, it takes in light and energy, and turns it into negative energy. That stone distorts time and space..."

"The time when we will take everything is coming," Dan says.

"That's correct," says the Xar. "Not just that beautiful planet, but the entire universe will be ours. The only possible obstacle is the one with the Ultimate Power. That is the only thing that can equal the power of our Darkness. Crush it! Erase it from that world!"

"The Ultimate Power... I want to see it. Something that carries that much power. If I attack FentonWorks, Kuri will surely show up with it!"

"Dan?" calls Skulker.

"We haven't seen the full power of the Darkness yet. This would be a fine opportunity to test it."

Kuri gasps. She fingers her pendant in her hands.

"My comrade was taken over... By this planet, and the Darkness. Now no one can stop him. We will proceed with the Replay operation, to the Earth of the past. We'll start to change the path of history. Then when we warp back to the 30th century, disturbances will start to occur. We're in danger... Us. This world, Dominion. Earth. Everything." He looks up at Kuri. "You won't repeat this to anyone."

"Repeat this...? Me? What do you mean!?"

"Ember. Spectra." The two spirits swirl around Kuri. She looks at them in surprise. They throw her back, and she crashes to the ground.

Skulker bends down over her, and places his hands around her neck.

"The truth will be that the unbeatable soldier Kuri died. Heh heh... From here, we'll go to the Earth of the past, and recreate history. We'll return to a new future. We don't know what'll become of the earth or this planet! Or you! It's your fault my brother's acting strangely. It's your fault everything's gone wrong!" He takes a large, sharp black crystal. "You awful woman! The existence of you and your Ultimate Power have upset history." He holds the dark magic high above his head. "Die!"

"An awful woman!?" Kuri thinks. "Me!?" Her hand clutches the pendant at her side. "It's all the fault of my existence!?"

"What!?" Skulker says. "That light...!"

Dan and Fright Knight turn around.

"Kuri!?" calls Danny from within the Ghost Zone.

"This...!" says the Xar. "This light is running through the division of space-time! This light's so strong!"

"That's right, Xar. This is surely the Ultimate Power." A shadowy woman stands behind him. "If you leave Dominion, I'm going with you."

Kuri stands up, holding her glowing pendant. The two spirits scream and they dissipate into nothingness. "I don't believe it," she says. "The power it had lost! If I do it now, here!"

"This reactor is the only release of the power coming from the inside of this planet."

"I can use my power!" Kuri blasted back the other members of the Dominion.

"She used her power!?" says Dan. "Damnit!"

Kuri senses her friends nearby. "Where are they...?" She feels around on the floor. "Where is the Room of Darkness? Deep, deep... At the bottom... The very bottom. There they are!" The three are unconscious on the floor of the cavern. "Tucker! Sam! Wake up!" She presses her hand to the ground. "Wake up!" The ground rips apart before her.

The two open their eyes. "Kuri!?" They look around. "Kuri!? Where are you!?"

"Tucker!" she calls. "Sam!"

They get up. "Her power reached down here. Kuri's power! What happened!?"

The eyes on a corpse begin to glow, again filling the room with gas.

"Kuri!" calls Sam. "Where are you!? We can't use our power here!"

Tucker moans, and sways to the side. Sam catches him. "Stay with me, Tucker!"

"You are humans!" Kuri tells them. "You can get to me! I'll help you. Do it! Now!"

The two burst above ground, joining Kuri.

"I don't believe it," says Pariah Dark.

"They have the kind of power to do this..." Dan says. "Xar!"

The hooded figure appears. "I'm here, Dan. I am here. Heh heh..." Blackness begins to grow out behind him.

"What the-!?" Pariah Dark says. "That massive black shadow!? Xar!?"

"Heh heh... That Ultimate Power has awesome power. It crosses time and space. I can use it to increase the negative energy, and free the power of the Darkness."

"Amazing power," says Dan. "Everyone's after it. That's sure to cause fighting and misfortune."

"No!" says Kuri. "The Ultimate Power protects peace! It brings love and tranquility! I won't accept your distorted wisdom, and your evil plots! There will be no fighting. Everyone will live in peace! Open your eyes! You're misusing the power you have. The way you're using it is wrong!"

The image of the different soldiers, different people who have fought Dan in the past appear as she grips her pendant.

"Kuri!?" the others say. "No... That's... the Ultimate Power?"

"Love and tranquility is a fantasy," Dan says. "Since you have the Ultimate Power, you cause hate and delusions. That Power is the source of all misfortune. Isn't that right, Xar?"

"Certainly..." the Xar says. His eyes shine out from under his hood. "Heh heh... It brings misfortune. All the power hidden in that stone... I will take that power. I won't be swayed by your words. Dan! Kill them!"

"You won't beat us!" says Kuri.

The castle begins to shake. Stone crumbles from the walls and ceiling. Pillars collapse.

Pariah Dark looks around. "Oh- If I stay here, I'll die!" He gets up and starts to get out.

"Pariah?" calls Fright Knight.

"Running away!?" says the Xar.

Pariah turns around. "I don't want to die here, like a dog."

The shadowy woman appears through the darkness behind the Xar. "Coward."

Pariah gasps. "What!? Who's that!? That black shadow... You're not going to convince me! What have you been using us for all this time? Show me who you really are, Xar!"

"You damn fool." A long arm snakes out from the Xar, grabbing Pariah around the neck.

"Dan!" Pariah calls.

Pariah screams as his body catches fire. His skin burns off, followed by his bones.

The shadowed woman chuckles as she fades away.

"Everyone!" says Kuri. "Gather your strength! We've got to get out of here."

"Kuri!" Sam says. "That's impossible! How could we!?"

"Clockwork!" Kuri holds up a glowing key. "I call on all my power! Clockwork! Show us the way!"

Dan's eyes glow, along with the mark on his forehead. "You won't get away from me!"

The girls see a flash of light as they vanish from the Ghost Zone.

Dan gasps.

"Dan!" Fright Knight calls from the shaking castle.

It crumbles to the ground.

"Looks like Kuri has escaped from this planet," says the Xar. "That's frightful power..." The woman stands behind him. He watches Danny in his crystal ball. "But, together with the Ultimate Power, you'll be back here again. Heh heh heh..." The woman smiles.

Xxx

"Ahri!" Danny calls as he runs through the storm in the land between time and space. "Ahri! Where are you!? I'm here! Answer me! Ahri!"

He clutches his matching pendant. "Kuri... Lend me strength. Ahri, where are you!? Ahri...! Kuri...!"

"This way... This way..." The shadowed woman appears before him, a black moon on her forehead. "Hey, here I am." She holds out her hand. "Come on, this way..." The moon rod glows as he takes her hand.

Clockwork stare into the darkness.

Clockwork's rod glows.

"Clockwork!"

Kuri, Tucker and Sam appear.

"Kuri! Tucker! Sam!"

"Master!" Kuri says to Clockwork. "The ancestors gave me amazing power! It helped us get back!"

"The ancestor's power...!?" says Clockwork.

Kuri feels the power of the pendant. "Ahri and... Danny... Where are they!?"

"Kuri," says Clockwork. "Ahri disappeared... Beyond time and space..." Kuri's face pales. "Then Danny went after her, into the space-time storm..."


	9. Queen of Mean

"After Ahri... Danny... went into the space-time storm...!" Kuri stares ahead blankly. "I'm going after him! I'm going into the space-time storm too!"

"Kuri!?" Clockwork says. "No! It's too dangerous! You can't even tell where you're going!"

"If he went, I'm following him! I'm going to get him back! Danny!"

"We don't know where he went, or how far he's gotten," Clockwork says. "Dark holes in time and space can open up anywhere. It's impossible to find anything in this storm!"

"I'm going, Clockwork."

The wind blows heavily.

"No matter how far you go," says Sam, "it looks like everywhere's the same." She looks forward at a wave in the distance. "Where does this way lead?"

"I don't know," says Clockwork. "Nobody's gone through there before. It's not allowed. It goes deep into space-time. From here, it's much darker, and the storm is stronger. It supposedly sucks in everything, and makes it vanish. Here, if you want to know the point you're at, you must have a space-time key. Without one, in this place beyond the flow of time, you'll be left to wander aimlessly forever... That shockwave, and storm... I feel the Fledgling may have run into something. It pulled her along somewhere..."

"Well," says Tucker. "That must be where Danny went!"

"Then they're not together..." says Kuri.

"No," says Sam. "He has a strong sense of responsibility. He keeps his promises. He's definitely with Ahri."

"Kuri," says Tucker. "Do you know why Ahri's so important to him? It's because Ahri is your sister. That's what he's thinking about. He went after her because we're with you. That sister of yours is so important to him. He's doing everything he can to protect her."

"I know..." Kuri says. "If only he thought of me like that... I want to be with him... Why is this happening? Finally... I thought I could finally be with him... But we've been torn apart again..."

A swirl appears in the air.

"What..." says Clockwork. "I'm getting some reaction. Who's there!?" In a flash of light, a black ball appears. "Moggle!?" Static fills its eyes, and it beeps erratically. Clockwork picks it up. "It's broken."

"Ahri must have sent it here," says Sam.

"She takes Moggle with her everywhere," says Clockwork. "What's happened? Fledgling!? Where are you!?"

Kuri suddenly loses consciousness and falls over.

"Kuri!?"

Xxx

Dan and Fright Knight lie on the ground in total darkness. Dan sits up. "Where am I?"

"Uhh..." moans Fright Knight. "My friend..." Fright Knight looks around and sees that they're in a black cavern, with rocky walls. "Oh no... The underground prison?"

He hears a voice. "This is at the foot of the Darkness's reactor. It was dangerous above ground, so you were brought here." The woman with red hair appears in the shadows in a black dress. "The reactor was beginning to meltdown."

"It what?"

"The power of the Ultimate Power triggered it, speeding up the fusion reactions. So with the crystal, and the recent explosion, fires started on the planet's surface with the fusion reactions. Unbelievable energy was released. It's because of you, Fright Knight. You were using the reactor to get the power of the Darkness, and that brought about the reactions. The planet grew. Now, this planet Dominion is matchless."

Dan looks at her forehead. "The Dominion mark... Who are you?"

She smiles. "The Xar will tell you. Come, follow me." The woman leads them ahead, soaring through the darkness.

"Are we falling inside Dominion?" Fright Knight asks.

"The core is the heart of the fusion reactions, where it's dark, cold, and quiet. Twisted space created by the negative power of the Darkness. The end of space-time, from which the Xar rules."

They approach a glowing dark crystalline structure. "That will be your new castle, the Xar's Dark Castle."

"The Xar's castle..." thinks Dan. "Has he always been appearing from this twisted space...?" He looks at the woman, who resembles Kuri. "She looks like..."

"Just who are you?" he asks.

They set down on the ground. The Xar sits before them. "Welcome to our castle," he says.

"You've been hiding this place from us, Xar," says Dan.

"Prince Dan, Fright Knight, have you been introduced to my pretty Fledgling?"

"The Fledgling!?" Dan thinks. "It can't be! That's the Fledgling!? But how!?" he stammers. "That body...!"

"Pardon me," the woman says. "The Xar's will is absolute. This form has the true will. So instead of being misled, you can follow the right path. You should know that. Have you forgotten?"

"So... The Xar has been somewhere else... Xar! Who are you!? Show me your true form! What on earth are you planning to do!?"

The Xar's eyes glow from under his hood. Light shines out from his body, filling the room. Waves surround Dan and Fright Knight. "My will is absolute," he says. "You will do as I say. Carry out my intentions."

"Yes, Xar," they say. "We will carry out your intentions."

The Fledgling holds out a black earring. "Take this stronger earring of the Darkness, a mark of your sworn loyalty to Dominion, a symbol of the power of the Darkness."

A crystal floats in the Xar's hand. "The Ultimate Power. With the Fledgling, I have finally gotten it. But why isn't it sending out light? Where is the power it showed before!?"

"If you aren't the Ancestor," the Fledgling says, "you can't use it. That power belongs to Kuri."

"I see," says the Xar. "But the power from before... was from the crystal carried by the Kuri of the past. In which case, we will have to get Clockwork and Kuri. We will get the two Ultimate Powers of the future and the past! You should be able to do that easily."

"I will, Xar," says the Fledgling. She brings his hand to her face. "I will present the two to you immediately. A simple task."

Dan crosses his arms. "the Manor is not easily penetrated. Besides, we don't even know if the power the Fledgling brought is the real thing. You trust her rather easily, Xar."

The woman looks angrily at him. "You'll see when I capture the Charmed Ones. I've put another Darkness monolith into the planet Earth. That will make Kuri herself appear, and she will kneel before me."

"If you do that," says Fright Knight, "the planet will be destroyed."

"It doesn't matter, if we get the two Ultimate Powers, and the bodies of the Charmed Ones and Kuri. I already have what I want." She gestures to the man in a tuxedo beside her. "The man I love, Dan." She hugs him tightly. "Prince Dan, Fright Knight, with that earring, you can transport freely. Prepare for the attack on Earth!"

"Look, Fright Knight!" says Dan. He looks up in the sky. "Dominion is glowing so brightly... It's such a huge planet."

The Fledgling stares into Dan's blue eyes. "I have you. Finally. Nobody can come between us. You'll be mine forever." She reaches up and kisses him deeply.

Xxx

Two people appear in the distance. A man with dark hair embraces a woman with red hair.

"Dan?"

The woman looks back.

"Ahri?"

Kuri stares ahead. "Darkness everywhere... Where is that?"

Xxx

She sees the four girls leaning over her. "Everyone?"

Tucker walks into the room. "You're awake?" she asks. "Are you all right? I heard you were exercising, and fell from the horizontal bar. Did you get a concussion?"

Kuri jumps out of bed. "Tucker!?"

"Everyone's here having tea." Kuri looks around. "This is... my room," she thinks. Moggle lies on the floor. She picks it up and tosses it into the air. "Moggle!?"

"Lady..." it says. "Lady..."

"We had Tucker fix it," says Sam. "Kuri-chan, you overused your power, and you collapsed. Remember? Once we returned from the future, we came back here."

"You glad to be home?" Sam asks.

"Kuri, you were snoring," says Tucker.

"I was not!"

"You were, you were! We had to hold your nose."

Ahri runs into the room. "Hey! You're all here to play!"

Kuri pauses. Her imagination.

"Kuri?"

"I... I can hardly believe this... We're all back together again. I'm so happy!"

She smiles sadly.

"I'm happy, but that's selfish... Without Ahri here... this house is so empty..."

"Kuri! Kuri! Hey! I brought Moggle to school! Everyone wanted it! Hehe!"

"Oh, you're hopeless," says Tucker. "We're all trying to cheer you up."

"You're starting to talk like a true sister, Kuri," says Tucker.

"I will find those two somehow," says Kuri, "and get them back safely. Just like all of you, they're so precious to me. I want to borrow your strength."

"You've become strong, Kuri-chan," thinks Sam.

Sam walks over to Tucker.

"Sam?" he says. "What are you staring at, just standing there in a daze?"

"Oh, Tucker," she says. "It's Kuri... Suddenly, she looks older somehow... I was a bit startled."

"She's different now."

Xxx

Danny approaches the center of the Manor, and the graves of his family.

"Kuri... Bring peace here. Please. Your sister... the fledging was... You saved Kuri with your power. I felt your effect on her. My family couldn't use their power in the future. The past. Was it you that released its power? My Ancestors...I need your strength. As I am, I can't do anything. This planet keeps decaying. Ahri and Dan are lost... And... ancestors, why can't you bring us peace?"

"You're still obsessing about what happened, Danny."

He looks down and sees Boggle, the mirror to Moggle. "Boggle...?"

"If we're ever really in a crisis," she says, "The Ancestor will surely come to save us, just like they helped Kuri. Right now, Kuri's injured body is being healed in the past. She's storing her power for when that time comes. That Kuri hasn't returned is a sign that she's really okay. Clockwork is worried for you. Cheer up."

"Clockwork?"

"Danny," Clockwork says. "Soon the day when the Kuri becomes your wife will arrive. No matter what, you must give her your protection. Kuri is important to me. She's our only Ultimate Power. I want to do everything I can to protect her. I want to give her my love."

"We'll rescue Ahri safely for sure," says Boggle. "Then we'll restore this planet to its former state, a planet of peace."

Danny pats her. "Thanks, Boggle."

Xxx

Kuri waves as the others leave her house.

Sam looks into the sky. "The red glow of the sunset..." she says. "Like blood..."

Kuri stares at the sun. "Danny... Ahri...! I hope you're safe..." A key falls to the ground. "The space-time key..." A bright burst of light flashes. The space around Kuri distorts. "What's going on!?" she says. Buildings in the distance waver. The street moves under her feet. She holds her shoulders. "My body's being ripped apart!" She falls down.

"Are you all right!?" the others call. "What's happening!?"

The key glows. She picks it up.

"Kuri!"

"The space-time key..." she thinks. "Is it Clockwork calling? Oh no! Is there some emergency in the future!?" She raises her arm into the air and her power glows around her.

Along with her, the group gathered.

Xxx

"Clockwork!" Kuri calls.

"Kuri!"

"What happened? There was a shock all the way in our dimension."

"Kuri," Clockwork says. "It's serious..."

The wooden space-time door slowly opens, revealing the landscape of the future Earth. Kuri gasps as she sees a pair of black monoliths in the wasted planet's surface.

"There's... a second Darkness!? The Dominion struck again!?"

The Fledgling enters the shining Manor. She approaches the graves. "Ultimate Power," she says. "Sister. Wake up. It's me."

Danny rushes into the room. "Who's there!?"

She turns and looks at him. He gasps as he sees her face.

"It's me," she says. "Ahri."

"Ahri...!? It can't be...! But... Only those of the Fenton Family can enter Fentonworks... But that body!"

"I changed." A crystal hangs from a chain in her hand. She holds her hand to his face.

The Moggle ball beeps in alarm.

Kuri runs into Fentonworks. "Danny!" She stops abruptly. "Who are you?" She remembers the woman in the darkness with Dan. "You're..."

"Have you forgotten me?" the Fledgling asks. She grabs Kuri's arm and reaches for her heart.

Her chest glows brightly. The Fledgling quickly fades out of the room.

She reappears and falls to the ground. "You can't keep me out of here," she says. "I do have the ability to enter this palace. You treat me like an invader, trying to remove me from this place."

"Fledgling...!?"

She stands up. "Once that name suited my appearance. But, I'm no longer the one of before. Xar."

The Xar appears behind her.

"I am the queen of darkness. I was chosen by the ruler of darkness, the Xar. I have been reborn as the queen of Dominion, the planet of darkness."


	10. End

"The black crescent moon on her forehead... The sign of the Dominion... The queen of Dominion, Reiko!? Can... Can that really be Reiko!?"

"She's awakened in that form!? Reiko!?"

"Reiko!?" Kurai calls. "It's not you, is it!?"

The Moggle beeps on the ground. "Reiko... Reiko..."

The woman turns and blasts the ball. "Noisy toy."

"Reiko!?"

"Reiko!" says Danny. "Wake up!"

"It's useless," says the Xar. "The Fledgling no longer exists in this world. Now she is my pretty Reiko. Heh heh heh..."

"Xar!"

"Dan," says Reiko. "Fright Knight."

The two men appear. Fright Knight's hands glow with darkness. "I've inherited these death hands from the Xar," he says.

"And I have the power of evil vision," says Dan. "Take this!" The mark on his forehead shines, and energy shoots at Sam and Tucker.

"Sam!? Tucker!"

Fright Knight's hands reach out and grow, wrapping around Danny.

"Danny!"

"Reiko," says Sam. "Stop it! Don't you recognize us!?"

"This is your birthplace!" says Tucker. "Are you going to fight us right in front of Fentonworks?"

"I have no feelings for this place," Reiko says. "Look." She points outside. "A second monolith. The Darkness produces twisted darkness, which will quickly spread out across the planet. Everything will be drawn into it. People. Buildings. They will collapse hundreds of times faster than they have been. This planet will be brought to ruin."

"But, Reiko..." says Kurai. "No, Reiko. Did you put it there? Into your own planet!?"

"Since I have what I want," she says, "whatever happens to this planet is fine. Dan."

The caped man with black eyes steps forward.

"Dan!?" Kurai calls. "Dan!?"

"He's mine," says Reiko. "I've got him all to myself. He's all mine."

"Dan!"

"Get her."

He holds out his hand, attacking her.

"Dan!? Can't you see me!?"

He jumps up.

"Dan!" Danny calls to himself.

Dan comes down and strikes Kurai with his ghostray. She falls to the ground.

"With the magic of our legacy..." she thinks. "He... He couldn't have..."

"Kurai!" says Danny.

"He won't listen to anyone but me," Reiko says. "Come, Dan." He goes to her, and they kiss.

"They're here, but..." Kurai says. "Reiko! I know we screwed up, but you're important to us! Why are you fighting us!?"

"You're a good girl," Clockworkd said. "I'm proud of you, Reiko."

Reiko flinches. "I'm not listening to you!" she shouts. "You don't know anything about me!" She hits Kurai and knocks her to the floor. "Dan!"

"You have love taken by force," Dan says. "That is one way to get it."

Reiko raises her arm in the air. A huge darkness appears above her. They others all gasp.

"Everyone!" Sam says. "Get out of the way!"

The darkness shoots down and embeds itself in the ground, near the other two monoliths.

"A monolith!?"

"Fentonworks," Reiko says. "This world, and you will all be drawn into the darkness of the Underworld."

"My pretty Reiko," says Xar. "She's right. With her immense power, she can manipulate this world quite easily, along with you, her relatives of the Phantom line. Heh heh heh..."

Xxx

Clockwork's staff glows. "I feel uneasy..." she says. "Such anxiety... What's happening on the other side of that door!? I can only wait here, alone. Reiko... Are you safe!? Kurai!"

"Look!" says Sam. "The palace...!"

"Kurai!?"

Kurai stands in front of the Manor, her eyes closed. They glow.

"Heh..." says Xar. "She's still struggling. Your loved ones are all mine. I can crush you at any time. If you want them returned, become mine together with Phantom. You and your Ultimate Power!"

"Never," says Kurai. "I'll show you! I'll protect them! Fentonworks and this planet!" She holds out her arms before the manor.

"Use your powers," the Xar says.

"But then..." says Dan. "This planet...!"

"I don't care," the Xar says. "The Ultimate Power and the Phantom are as good as mine. I don't need the planet anymore."

"And is it the same with us?" asks Dan.

"Dan!?" says Reiko.

"Xar," he says. "You took us with your evil vision. Ironic that it was the power you sent out that cleared my mind. I've come to my senses! Pariah, Fright Knight... For years we lived as your comrades. I won't let them have died in vain!"

"Fright Knight!" Reiko calls. Fright Knight approaches Dan.

"Are you going to fight against me, Fright Knight?" Dan asks. "You've always been on my side. But now you're wearing that earring..."

Fright Knight's long black arm reaches out at him.

"That's the single sign of your rebellion," Dan says. The mark on his forehead shines, and Fright Knight's body is torn to shreds.

"That's it, Fright Knight," he says. He turns to the cloaked figure. "Die, Xar!" The light blasts the Xar. The cloak flies off, revealing a skeleton that collapses. Dan gasps. "That's... the Xar's body!? Oh no..."

Reiko laughs. "His true form is here," she says. She reaches to the sky. "Xar!"

Dark clouds circle in the air above her, swirling over the palace.

Xxx

Clockwork looks around. "The storm's gone...? What... What is happening!? I have to get through that door now! I want to help the others fight! But... I am the solitary guardian of the Ghost Zone. I can't leave here."

Xxx

"Clockwork," Elder says. "You watch the Ghost Zone. You are the warrior who controls time and space. There are three things you must not do. First, you may not cross time. Second, you can never leave the door you must protect. And third..."

xxx

"What is that!?" they cry.

A huge black planet comes through the storm in the sky.

"That's...!?"

Two eyes shine through the sphere. "My name... is Xar."

Kurai covers her ears. "That voice is so loud! Where's it coming from!?"

"That body of mine," he says, "was an afterimage of the past. The world of Dominion has come. That corpse has been rotting away for ages. Time is running out for this world. I will have it assimilated. It and Dominion will become one. I am Dominion! This world is myself."

"Dominion... has a mind!?" Dan says. "That's the Xar's true self!?"

Reiko smiles before the glowing planet. Buildings rip from the ground, and fly into the air.

"Everything's being sucked in!" says Kurai. The other soldiers start to fall over. "Danny!" she calls. "Sam! Tucker! Everyone! Dominion is approaching. Black, distorted space is expanding everywhere... The planet will really become a planet of death. I can't let it happen! I'll stop it!"

"Dominion..." Dan says. "Then Xar never existed...!? It was the planet all along. We were being fooled... Into thinking our lives had a purpose..."

"Look!" Sam says. "The Manor... It's shining!"

Kurai stands still before it.

"Is that Kurai's power!?" says Tucker. "The Ultimate Power."

"No," says Danny. "That's Kurai's power!"

"Fentonworks!" Sam says.

"It's being crushed!" says Tucker. "Kurai!"

Danny turns and runs toward it.

"Danny!?"

He rushes into Fentonworks, toward the place where Kurai stands.

"Kurai..."

Tucker looks at him, concerned.

Xxx

"Clockwork!"

Clockwork turns. "Tucker!?"

"Clockwork," she says. "You have to help Danny. We're all in trouble. Reiko has changed! Into the queen of the Dominion! Dominion has appeared in the sky! You have to fight! Kurai and the others are already being worn out. They might not be able to save Fentonworks... Or the planet!"

"I have to stay here..." Clockworks says. "I want to fight with them...!"

"Clockwork... I will stay here and guard!"

Tucker stays and wishes Clockwork good luck as she runs to help Kurai and Danny.

xxx

"It's getting stronger..." Kurai thinks. "The power..." She raises her arms as she kneels on the floor. "Clear, beautiful power. Light, run across time."

"The power of the Darkness..." thinks Dan. "The rewriting of history... That white power will pierce through us. I can't resist it... That power...!"

"Heh heh!" says Reiko. "This planet is finished! Sister, this is your ruined future! How long can you stand against the Darkness contorting time and space! Ahahaha!"

"Reiko...!" Kurai thinks.

The others lie on the ground. "Kurai..." Danny moans.

"I can't keep my strength up..." Kurai says. "No... Stop! Reiko! If you get any closer, our lives will be over. Please! Open your eyes! Return to the real Reiko! Don't let the future turn out this way!"

"Dan..." Reiko says.

"Danny!" says Kurai.

Dan lunges at Kurai and attacks her. She lands on the ground.

He hears a voice in his head.

"Dan..."

He stops for a moment.

Reiko pushes him aside and approaches her sister.

"The power of Darkness—" she began to glow dark. "And the force of Ultimate Light—" Kurai glowed white. "If we touch it's over for everyone."

Danny and Clockwork run out from the palace.

"This is the END!" Reiko screamed.

"Damnit!" says Danny.

"Oh my-!?" says Clockwork. "Is that... Reiko!?"

"I don't believe anyone anymore!" yells Dan. "Reiko, Xar, you have the immense power of the Darkness. We must end everything!"

"What's Reiko going to do!?" says Danny. "The two of them..."

"If they touch," Clockwork thinks, "everything in this world could be over!"

"Reiko!" calls Clockwork.

"We'll all be going on a trip," says Reiko as she lunged for her sister.


	11. Dominion

Reiko brought her hand together with her sister

"No!" shouts Clockwork.

Danny closes his eyes. "It's the end! Everything's over!"

Dan runs toward Reiko.

Sam lies on the ground.

Danny ducks.

"Stop!" Clockwork holds her staff over her head. "Time! Stop!"

Xxx

_"Clockwork."_

_"Yes, Elder."_

_"The third thing you must not do: You mustn't stop time. You and the staff you carry are endowed with the power to move time. But no matter what happens, you must never stop time. If you ever violate that law..."_

Xxx

Danny opens his eyes. "Nothing... happened!?"

Dan and Reiko stand frozen, amid a dark cloud. Reiko holds her hand an inch apart from Kurai.

"They're standing still!? Clockwork!?" He sees light swirling around his staff. "Oh no! He stopped time!?"

The others slowly open their eyes and get up. The planet Dominion holds still in the sky.

"Everything's stopped moving!"

"Dominion too? Even the air... It's like it's all frozen!"

"Time... stopped!?" thinks Kurai.

The fog around Dan dissipates. The blackness fades from his eyes. "...Reiko..."

The fog around Reiko leaves. She falls to the ground.

Clockwork is knocked to the floor, and loses consciousness.

Kurai and Sam run to him. "Clockwork!? Wake up!"

Danny runs over. "He shouldn't have done that! He stopped time...!"

"Clockwork did what!?" Sam says.

"He stopped time. He violated the most important law..."

"What law!?"

Clockwork moans.

"The most important law!? What's that!? And if Clockwork broke it, what'll happen!?"

"If you ever violate that law... You will give up your life."

"He gave up his life...!?"

"Time has stopped..." Clockwork says. "But it won't last for long... Kurai... Carefully get away from Reiko..."

"Clockwork!"

"Hurry!" she says.

Kurai slowly goes Danny's side.

"There's no power in my body..." says Reiko.

"Clockwork," says Kurai. "I away from her. Look."

"Good." says Clockwork.

"Thanks to you, Clockwork."

"I... wanted to help you... To fight with you... Kurai. My apprentice. The future of this world. You're what I longed for. Kurai, please... Save Reiko!" He coughs hard.

"Clockwork! Stay with us! Just a little longer! You can get through this!"

"Danny..." she says. "I committed the crime by myself... I must atone for it..." He weakly reaches for her rod. "My apprentice..."

Xxx

Tucker sits by the space-time door. He vanishes, and appears before Clockwork. "Thank you... Tucker... Guard the door for me..."

"Clockwork!? Hold on!"

"I... carried out my mission with honor... "

"Clockwork..."

"I can't protect Reiko... I'm sorry..." He holds out the space-time key. "Reiko..."

His hand falls limp on the floor.

"Clockwork!" cries Kurai. "Open your eyes! Noooo! Clockwork!"

"Reiko..."

"I... am Reiko. I have no allies or friends. I am alone."

"This is the time key. You can travel through time with it. It's a very important key."

"Whenever I go to see her," Reiko thinks, "My sister gets mad at me. But she's so important to me. I wonder if my sister loves me..."

Tears fill her eyes. "It's overwhelming me... What is this feeling? Why am I crying?"

"Reiko...!?" says Kurai.

"My most valuable friend... Clockwork... Clockwork!" The black earrings on her ears shatter. Her body shines with light.

Dominion begins to approach Earth again. The fog vanishes from around Dan. "The Ultimate Power!?" he says. "Where are they!? That light...! That light!"

"Reiko!" calls Kurai. "That light... Reiko!?"

Reiko's eyes clear and she is no longer evil.

"Reiko!" says Danny.

"She transformed...!" says Tucker.

"Reiko!" says Kurai.

"Kurai..." she says. "I..."

"The birth of the Ultimate Power," says Tucker.

"Tucker!"

"The awakening of the Ultimate Power!" Tucker walks up to Reiko.

"Kurai!" she says. She turns around. "Clockwork! Look! I transformed!

"Look at me!" she says. "Clockwork! Clockwork..." She falls to her knees, with tears in her eyes. "I finally transformed... But I'm not happy at all! Wake up! Clockwork!"

"Reiko...!" says Kurai.

Kurai hits her hand on the ground. She stands up and faces the planet looming overhead. "You manipulate people's pure spirit! You toy with them! You drag in people who want to live without fighting! I won't let you do this!" Her hands shine with power. She blasts power at the planet.

"So you've gotten rid of the evil spirit that possessed Reiko," it says. "Such wondrous power. And now you're coming to fight me."

"Sister..." thinks Reiko. "She has a strong heart..."

"Nobody else is going to die!" Kurai shouts. "Dominion! I won't let you do what you want with this planet!"

"Now that I have this power," thinks Reiko, "am I going to fight the enemies too!?"

"That's too bad," says Dominion. "You are small. Now I have you in my grasp."

The ground starts to waver around them.

"It's the distorted space of the Dominion!"

"I will smash you into pieces," Dominion says. "Heh heh heh..."

"If Xar wasn't able to do it..." says Dan. "I'll do it!" He charges toward Kurai.

"Kurai!" calls Danny. He reaches out.

"Danny!" Kurai says. She grabs on to his hand with him, and they hold it out toward Dan. It glows brightly, and Dan's body changes to the side of good once more and joins them.

"Young Dan," Dominion says. "So childish. I have been waiting for ages and ages to bring out my power. He had a plan to create a magnificent history, but he and his allies were fools."

Kurai and the others fall into darkness, the surroundings twisting around them. "Space is distorting!" Kurai says. "We're being sucked into the darkness." She sees the palace of the Dominion, on the forehead of a huge, fiery head. "Is that... Xar's true form!?"

"My name is Xar," he says. "I attacked the blue planet, Earth, and was sent off to the dark, cold planet of darkness. A warrior."

"Dominion!" says Danny.

"But now the planet Dominion has become a part of me. It is full of the massive power of the Darkness. I have the strongest power! And with it, I can do anything!"

"He's been in the Ghost Zone for hundreds of years. Is it his hatred moving the planet!?"

"An evil without form," thinks Kurai. "I won't let it happen to Earth... I'll stop it!" She holds out her hand. "I'll stop it!"

Light shines through the air from her hand. A huge swirl appears in a sky, then disappears. The sky is clear.


	12. Finale

"Dominion..." says Tucker. "It's gone..."

"Kurai!?" calls Reiko.

They look around. "Where's Kurai!?"

"Oh no..." says Tucker. "She was being sucked toward Dominion. Did they... disappear together...?"

"Oh no!" says Reiko. "Kurai!"

"Kurai disappeared..." thinks Danny. "No! Kurai! Kurai!" He looks at his hands. "They're hot... I feel power rising... Kurai!?"

He vanishes.

"Danny!?" calls Sam. "He's gone!"

"The Dominion you fought uses the Evil Black Crystal for power." Sam said.

"Kurai was dragged into that power," says Tucker. "It's highly possible that she was carried off to the planet. Into space...?"

"So Danny must have been drawn there too," says Sam. "Reiko. We need you. You're the only one who can go there and find Kurai. Rescue her and Danny, then put a stop to the Death Phantom's hatred driving Dominion. This time, we'll fully contain it. Then help Kurai. Can you fight to contain Dominion? Tucker. Send her there."

Tucker used his power to send Reiko to Kurai and Danny.

"Let's just wait here," says Sam.

Xxx

"It's dark... Very... So dreary. Nothingness. Where am I...?"

"Kurai...!"

"Danny!?"

"I guess we were drawn here," he says.

They see a glowing black planet, far away.

"That's... It can't be..."

They fly closer and closer through space. The face of the Xar appears on the planet.

"Heh heh... The mother planet Dominion will be your grave. Everything is sucked in, and turned into negative energy. It will take and amplify the positive energy of the Ultimate Power. Things are perfect now that I have both of them. I can rule the entire universe. Earth. The solar system. Nobody can stop me! Ahahaha!"

Kurai looks at Danny. "Since we have the Ultimate Power," she says, "can we fight the spirit of evil? Even with it, we can't change history. Can we do it?"

"I believe we can," says Danny. "Many lives and souls have been saved by it. Don't abandon your path. You can do it if you believe. I was powerless, but you called out to me. I've given you all the power of my life. I live to make you strong, Kurai. So you can fight. Do it."

"Yes... The first time I used the power of the Ultimate Power, it was with your help, Danny. With you, I can be myself. Bring out our power. Become one." They kiss. "I feel a warm light in my arms," she says.

The light moves out, and Reiko appears in it.

"Kurai! Danny!" she says.

"Reiko...!"

She holds her hand out; it's glowing. "I've come to fight with you!"

"Heh heh heh..." says Xar. "Ahahaha!"

"Reiko!" says Kurai. "Believe in your power! Focus it all at the planet. All the power of the Ultimate Power at Dominion!"

Kurai and Reiko hold their moon rods out at Xar and Dominion. "Ultimate Power!"

The power shoots at the planet, and energy blasts out of it. The two sisters faint, and Danny catches them. Dominion explodes into nothingness.

A point of light appears in the sky, then vanishes. Sam looks up. People in the city begin to awaken.

"San Francisco..." says Sam. "It's been restored... Sam, you did it!"

"No," she says. "Kurai borrowed the power of Danny and Reiko, and destroyed Dominion."

The others smile. "Kurai!"

"Kurai-chan!"

"From now on, to be able to fight alongside Kurai. Soon, time will again begin to flow as normal. We should go."

"Sam!" says Sam. "What about Kurai..."

Xxx

"A familiar voice... near my ears... Who is it...?" Kurai opens her eyes, and sees Reiko and Danny looking at her.

"Kurai!" says Reiko.

"Dominion..." she says. "The Future..."

"Dominion is gone!" says Sam. "Earth of the future is back to the way it was before."

"Thank you..." says Sam. "For everything."

"No, thank you, Sam," says Kurai. "Oh, there's so much I want to say."

Sam stands with Tucker, and Reiko.

"Someday, we'll run into each other. Someday, we can meet. Farewell."

"Farewell..."

xxx

Kurai opens her eyes. She lies in her bed in the manor. "Oh... I'm back... Everything... Was it just a dream? The Charmed Ones... And Reiko..."

Reiko runs into the room. "Wake up, Kurai! It's morning!"

Kurai smiles.

Xxx

Kurai and Danny sit on a bench in the park.

"It was all like a really long dream," says Kurai. "Like riding a roller coaster. A dream."

"It wasn't a dream," says Danny. "It all happened in an instant."

"Lots of things will happen between now and the future." She looks up at Danny. "But, through it all, I'll be with him."

They kiss deeply.


End file.
